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Born: 1956
- Places lived: California, Salt Lake County (Utah), Utah, Weber County (Utah),
- Church positions: Bishop, Missionary,
- Victims: 1 victim,
- Crime scenes: Bishop's office, LDS building,
- Criminal case(s): Ongoing,
- Civil lawsuit(s): No civil case,
Church officials allegedly failed to report abuse
Summary
Mark Stevens was a Mormon bishop in 2006 in the Cobble Creek 3rd Ward, West Jordan Utah Cobble Creek Stake. He began his position as bishop in 2004 or 2005.
In 2025, Stevens was criminally charged with sexually assaulting a 16-year-old girl. The alleged assault took place in his office at church in 2006 or 2007.
Stevens was a Mormon missionary in San Diego, California from 1975 to 1977.
He attended Weber State College when Joseph Bishop was its president.
Stevens was married in the Ogden Utah LDS temple in 1978.
FLOODLIT has obtained a copy of the police probable cause affidavit in this case, thanks to your donations.
As of Feb. 4, 2025, Stevens was being held without bail at the Purgatory Correctional Facility.
If you have information about Stevens or this case, please contact us.
Sources
- LDS mission to San Diego,
- Former LDS bishop charged with sexual assault of 16-year-old girl,
- Docket information obtained by FLOODLIT,
- Former Latter-day Saint bishop charged with sexual abuse of teenager,
- Southern Utah man charged with abusing teen in 2006 as her bishop,
- Current Inmate Roster,
- Former bishop charged with abusing teen arrested in Washington City,
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1. LDS mission to San Diego
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2. Former LDS bishop charged with sexual assault of 16-year-old girl
[archived 2:55 pm MST; article updated 3:05 pm MST correcting "Stephens" to "Stevens"]
SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill has brought sexual assault charges against a former bishop of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, according to a press release from the DA’s Office.
Mark Lehnhof Stevens, 68, is charged in Salt Lake County with forcible sodomy (first-degree felony) and two counts of forcible sexual abuse (second-degree felony).
In 2006, Stevens, a former bishop of the LDS Church, assaulted the victim when she was 16 years old, according to the DA’s Office. The victim was reportedly a member of the church, and Stevens was her bishop.
At the time, Stevens had allegedly asked the victim to meet with him to “discuss her leadership role” within the church. The victim met with Stevens in his office, where he began asking her about her personal sexual behavior, officials said.
Stevens allegedly then told the victim that she would be expected to “keep her future husband sexually satisfied,” and that if her husband had issues with sin, God would “hold her accountable,” according to the DA’s Office. After telling her this, Stevens allegedly walked around his desk and sexually assaulted the victim.
After the assault, Stevens reportedly laughed and said to the victim, “You’re just so innocent, aren’t you?” He also reiterated that as her bishop, God had instructed him to “teach her how to keep her husband satisfied,” officials said.
Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill has released the following statement on the matter:
Churches are sacred spaces in our community. Children need to be protected, and it is incumbent on all of us to safeguard these spaces for our children. I want to thank this brave victim-survivor for coming forward and reporting this alleged abuse. If you are a survivor of sexual assault, I encourage you to report it to law enforcement. All persons accused of wrongdoing are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.
Stephens was booked into Salt Lake County Jail on the aforementioned charges.
Charges are allegations only. All arrested persons are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
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3. Docket information obtained by FLOODLIT
CASE NUMBER 251901446 State Felony
This case is linked to the following cases: 221909531, 221911190, 231900763, 231903408,
231903785, 251900725
CHARGES
Charge 1 - 76-5-403(2) - FORCIBLE SODOMY - 1st Degree Felony Offense Date: May 23, 2006
Location: Salt Lake County
Mandatory Appearance
Charge 2 - 76-5-404 - FORCIBLE SEX ABUSE - 2nd Degree Felony Offense Date: May 23, 2006
Location: Salt Lake County
Mandatory Appearance
Charge 3 - 76-5-404 - FORCIBLE SEX ABUSE - 2nd Degree Felony Offense Date: May 23, 2006
Location: Salt Lake County
Mandatory Appearance -
4. Former Latter-day Saint bishop charged with sexual abuse of teenager
[3:23 pm MST]
A former Latter-day Saint bishop faces felony charges for allegedly sexually assaulting a teenage girl in his office nearly 20 years ago.
Mark Lehnhof Stevens, 68, of Washington, Utah, is charged in 3rd District Court in with one count of forcible sodomy, a first-degree felony, and two counts second-degree of forcible sexual abuse.
Between 2006 and 2007, Stevens allegedly asked the 16-year-old girl to meet with him to discuss her leadership role in church according to charging documents. The girl, identified in court documents only with initials, met with him in his office at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He allegedly told her he wanted to meet weekly.
He allegedly started asking the teen about sex and her personal sexual behavior. He told her she would be expected to keep her future husband sexually satisfied and if her husband had issues with pornography or sin, God would hold her accountable, the charges state.
Stevens then walked around the desk and sexually assaulted the girl, according to charging documents.
“Churches are sacred spaces in our community. Children need to be protected, and it is incumbent on all of us to safeguard these spaces for our children,” Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill said in a statement.
“I want to thank this brave victim-survivor for coming forward and reporting this alleged abuse. If you are a survivor of sexual assault, I encourage you to report it to law enforcement.”
West Jordan police investigated the case.
“The church’s position is that abuse cannot be tolerated in any form and that those who abuse will be accountable before God,” according to the church’s website.
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5. Southern Utah man charged with abusing teen in 2006 as her bishop
[1:50 pm MST]
WEST JORDAN — Criminal charges were filed Monday against a southern Utah man accused of abusing a teenage girl nearly 20 years ago when investigators say he was the girl's bishop.
Mark Lehnhof Stevens, 68, of Washington, Washington County, is charged in 3rd District Court with forcible sodomy, a first-degree felony, and two counts of forcible sexual abuse, a second-degree felony.
Stevens is accused of sexually assaulting a girl between 2006 and 2007 when she was 16. The case was investigated by West Jordan police.
Prosecutors say Stevens would meet with the girl as her bishop "to discuss her leadership role within the church."
"Stevens told (the teen) that as part of her marriage covenant, she would be expected to keep her husband sexually satisfied and if her husband had issues with sexual sin or pornography, God would hold her accountable for failing her duties as a wife," the charging documents allege. "Stevens told (her) that he wanted to meet with her weekly to teach her."
Stevens is accused of inappropriately touching the girl during those meetings, according to the charges.
Prosecutors have requested that Stevens be held without the possibility of posting bail once he is taken into custody.
"Churches are sacred spaces in our community. Children need to be protected, and it is incumbent on all of us to safeguard these spaces for our children," Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill said in a statement Monday. "I want to thank this brave victim-survivor for coming forward and reporting this alleged abuse. If you are a survivor of sexual assault, I encourage you to report it to law enforcement."
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6. Current Inmate Roster
604770 STEVENS, MARK LEHNHOF 17:59:45 02/03/25
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7. Former bishop charged with abusing teen arrested in Washington City
A former bishop was recently charged with sexually abusing a teenage girl while serving in a church in West Jordan nearly two decades ago.
On Monday, 68-year-0ld Mark Lehnhoff Stevens was charged with first-degree felony forcible sodomy and two second-degree felony counts of forcible sexual abuse, according to court documents filed in Salt Lake County.
The charges stem from an investigation into a report that Stevens, a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day-Saints who was serving as a bishop in West Valley City at the time, allegedly called the teen into his office to discuss a leadership role in the church.
The report alleges it was during that meeting in 2006 that Stevens began asking the girl explicit questions regarding her "personal" chastity, to reportedly determine her worthiness to serve in a possible leadership role.
The conversation then turned to sex and the girl’s future marriage covenant, as Stevens discussed what would be expected of her after marriage. He reportedly told the teen she would be expected to keep her husband "sexually satisfied," according to the affidavit.
If she failed and her husband were to then have issues with sin or pornography, Stevens reportedly told the girl during the meeting, then “God” would hold her accountable for failing as a wife.
Investigators allege Stevens then groped the teen, who was then forced to perform a sexual act on the suspect, who told the teen he was doing so to instruct her on how to please her future husband.
Stevens then set up weekly meetings as a way to continue to “teach” the girl, investigators allege, meetings that continued into 2007. The report does not state if there were any other incidents of abuse during those scheduled meetings.
The case was turned over to the Salt Lake County Attorney’s Office and on Monday; three felony charges were filed and a no-bail warrant was issued for Stevens’ arrest.
Washington City Police Chief Jason Williams told St. George News they received a call from West Valley City law enforcement on Monday requesting assistance with the arrest, since Stevens now lives in Washington City.
Williams said Washington City Police Department responded to a residence on Quail Ridge Drive and arrested the former bishop without incident.
Stevens was booked into Purgatory Correctional Facility on the charges filed in 3rd District Court in Salt Lake City. He remains in jail without bail while arrangements are being made to return the suspect to Salt Lake County.
This report is based on statements from court records, police or other responders and may not contain the full scope of findings. Persons arrested or charged are presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of law or as otherwise decided by a trier-of-fact.
Documents
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Criminal case documents
Floodlit has a copy of a related probable cause affidavit, but it is not currently available for download. Please check back soon or contact us to request an copy.Civil case documents
We do not know of any related civil cases, so no related civil case documents exist. If you have information that suggests otherwise, please contact us.
